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Author Topic: Russian culture  (Read 127245 times)

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Offline mendeleyev

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Russian culture
« on: March 25, 2008, 02:22:35 AM »
This will be a thread dedicated to sharing information, asking questions, and exploring Russian culture together.  Come on in and enjoy yourself.

This thread makes these promises:

1- The tea will always be on so you can relax and stay awhile.
2- Kvas is always free while you're here.  We have cold Kvas in the fridge for westerners and warm Kvas bottles on the counter for easterners.
3- No smoking, we are a smoke free environment.
4- Tort and confetti are in plentiful supply.  Help yourself.
5- Just remember your mother doesn't live here.  If you spill something or make a mess please clean up after yourself.
6- Toilets are down the hall, on the left.

Enjoy!

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Russian culture
« Reply #1 on: March 25, 2008, 02:25:29 AM »
Topical Guide to this thread:
Ancient Russia, page 1
Black Sea, page 6
Chronology of Russia, page 1
Dacha Life, page 3
Golden Ring cities, page 2
Map of Russia, page 1
Moscow History, page 2
Moscow Kremlin, pages 2,3
Napoleon's Invasion, page 1, 3
Novodevichy-New Maiden's Convent, page 2
Park Pobedy (Victory Park), page 2
Revolution of 1917, page 3
Romanov Dynasty, page 3
Russian Music, page 1
Sheremetyevo Park, page 6
Siberian Yukats, page 5
Trans Siberian Railroad, page 1-2




Russian cities:
See the link on RUA about Russian cities:




Transportation
Moscow Metro, page 2
Moscow Buses, page 2
Marshrutka Buses, page 2
Electric Trolley buses, page 2
Electric Trains, page 2
Trains (see Trans Siberian Railroad, pages 1-2)

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Russian culture
« Reply #2 on: March 26, 2008, 10:27:21 PM »
Ancient Russia

The early history of Russia, like those of many countries, is one of migrating peoples and ancient kingdoms. In fact, early Russia was not exactly "Russia," but a collection of cities that gradually coalesced into an empire. I n the early part of the ninth century, as part of the same great movement that brough the Danes to England and the Norsemen to Western Europe, a Scandanavian people known as the Varangians crossed the Baltic Sea and landed in Eastern Europe. The leader of the Varangians was the semilegendary warrior Rurik, who led his people in 862 to the city of Novgorod on the Volkhov River. Whether Rurik took the city by force or was invited to rule there, he certainly invested the city. From Novgorod, Rurik's successor Oleg extended the power of the city southward. In 882, he gained control of Kiev, a Slavic city that had arisen along the Dnepr River around the 5th century. Oleg's attainment of rule over Kiev marked the first establishment of a unified, dynastic state in the region. Kiev became the center of a trade route between Scandinavia and Constantinople, and Kievan Rus', as the empire came to be known, flourished for the next three hundred years.

By 989, Oleg's great-grandson Vladimir I was ruler of a kingdom that extended to as far south as the Black Sea, the Caucasus Mountains, and the lower reaches of the Volga River. Having decided to establish a state religion, Vladimir carefully considered a number of available faiths and decided upon Greek Orthodoxy, thus allying himself with Constantinople and the West. It is said that Vladimir decided against Islam partly because of his belief that his people could not live under a religion that prohibits hard liquor. Vladimir was succeeded by Yaroslav the Wise, whose reign marked the apogee of Kievan Rus'. Yaroslav codified laws, made shrewd alliances with other states, encouraged the arts, and all the other sorts of things that wise kings do. Unfortunately, he decided in the end to act like Lear, dividing his kingdom among his children and bidding them to cooperate and flourish. Of course, they did nothing of the sort.

Within a few decades of Yaroslav's death (in 1054), Kievan Rus' was rife with internecine strife and had broken up into regional power centers. Internal divisions were made worse by the depradations of the invading Cumans (better known as the Kipchaks). It was during this time (in 1147 to be exact) that Yuri Dolgorukiy, one of the regional princes, held a feast at his hunting lodge atop a hill overlooking the confluence of the Moskva and Neglina Rivers. A chronicler recorded the party, thus providing us with the earliest mention of Moscow, the small settlement that would soon become the pre-eminent city in Russia.

Source: http://www.geographia.com/russia/rushis02.htm



ila_rendered









Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Russian culture
« Reply #3 on: March 26, 2008, 10:28:11 PM »
Napoleon's Invasion of Russia

In June of 1812, Napoleon began his fatal Russian campaign, a landmark in the history of the destructive potential of warfare. Virtually all of continental Europe was under his control, and the invasion of Russia was an attempt to force Tsar Alexander I to submit once again to the terms of a treaty that Napoleon had imposed upon him four years earlier. Having gathered nearly half a million soldiers, from France as well as all of the vassal states of Europe, Napoleon entered Russia at the head of the largest army ever seen. The Russians, under Marshal Kutuzov, could not realistically hope to defeat him in a direct confrontation. Instead, they begin a defensive campaign of strategic retreat, devastating the land as they fell back and harassing the flanks of the French. As the summer wore on, Napoleon's massive supply lines were stretched ever thinner, and his force began to decline. By September, without having engaged in a single pitched battle, the French Army had been reduced by more than two thirds from fatigue, hunger, desertion, and raids by Russian forces.

Nonetheless, it was clear that unless the Russians engaged the French Army in a major battle, Moscow would be Napoleon's in a matter of weeks. The Tsar insisted upon an engagement, and on September 7, with winter closing in and the French army only 70 miles (110 km) from the city, the two armies met at Borodino Field. By the end of the day, 108,000 men had died--but neither side had gained a decisive victory. Kutuzov realized that any further defense of the city would be senseless, and he withdrew his forces, prompting the citizens of Moscow to began a massive and panicked exodus. When Napoleon's army arrived on September 14, they found a city depopulated and bereft of supplies, a meagre comfort in the face of the oncoming winter. To make matters much, much worse, fires broke out in the city that night, and by the next day the French were lacking shelter as well.

After waiting in vain for Alexander to offer to negotiate, Napoleon ordered his troops to begin the march home. Because the route south was blocked by Kutuzov's forces (and the French were in no shape for a battle) the retreat retraced the long, devastated route of the invasion. Having waited until mid-October to depart, the exhausted French army soon found itself in the midst of winter--in fact, in the midst of an unusually early and especially cold winter. Temperatures soon dropped well below freezing, cossacks attacked stragglers and isolated units, food was almost non-existent, and the march was five hundred miles. Ten thousand men survived. The campaign ensured Napoleon's downfall and Russia's status as a leading power in post-Napoleonic Europe. Yet even as Russia emerged more powerful than ever from the Napoleonic era, its internal tensions began to increase.














Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Russian culture
« Reply #4 on: March 26, 2008, 10:54:47 PM »
The Great Seal/Emblem of the Russian Empire

The term Czar (actually better transliterated as Tsar) means 'Caesar' and over the years evolved more to the idea of Emperor which was in line with other European kingdoms at the time.

It was Ivan III (father of Ivan IV--the Terrible) who made it the state emblem of the Russian Empire.  Ivan III adopted the golden Byzantine double-headed eagle as his seal, first documented in 1472, marking his direct claim to the Roman imperial heritage and posing as a sovereign equal and rival to the Holy Roman Empire.



Years later the United States would adopt as it's SEAL the one-headed Eagle.  And therein lies a funny story.  In the days of the Cold War in 1946, Soviet school children presented a two foot wooden replica of the Great Seal of the United States to Ambassador Averell Harriman.

The Ambassador hung the seal in his office in Spaso House (Ambassador's residence). During George F. Kennan's ambassadorship in 1952, a routine security check discovered that the seal contained a microphone and a resonant cavity which could be stimulated from an outside radio signal.



Russia's notoriety for eavesdropping and espionage stretches back even to the czars. James Buchanan, U.S. minister in St. Petersburg during 1832-33 and later U.S. President, recounted that 'we are continually surrounded by spies both of high and low degree. You can scarcely hire a servant who is not a secret agent of the police.'

















Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Russian culture
« Reply #5 on: March 26, 2008, 11:06:17 PM »
Here in the Culture and Language forum section we have a growing Russian music thread.  Sometime ago we introduced the very sexy and talented Ирина Салтыкова (Irina Saltykova), a Russian blonde bombshell who is as much fun to watch as she is to listen-to. 

You'll find her music here:  http://ruadventures.com/forum/index.php?topic=1325.60






Photos and music of Russia:

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Russian culture
« Reply #6 on: March 27, 2008, 12:16:32 AM »
























Offline Rasputin

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Re: Russian culture
« Reply #7 on: April 02, 2008, 11:00:10 PM »
The windmills in the photos above are fascinating inventions. They could be rotated to ensure the blades of the windmill were always facing the wind. Very practical.
"Seems I live in Russia Rasputin visited" - Millaa
"So do I" - Molly35ru

Offline ScottinCrimea

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Re: Russian culture
« Reply #8 on: April 02, 2008, 11:49:40 PM »
I researched my geneology and learned that I am a direct descendent of Yaroslav the Wise,  This has sparked my interest in Ukrainian history and I'm surrently reading a few books on the subject.  There seems to be a lot of controversy regarding the genisis of Ukraine as a nation versus the "Russian' identity as well as the Polish/Lituanian Iinfluence. It all depends on who the writer identifies with.  Ultimately, though, it seems that the Rus nation was divided between the northeastern influence (present day Russia)  and the Galicians (present day Ukrainians).  It is a lot more involved than that, but my impression so far is that both originated from one source.  As much as the present day Russians hate to admit it, their beginnings were in Ukraine.

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Russian culture
« Reply #9 on: April 03, 2008, 12:05:38 AM »
Scott, if you don't mind I'd like to copy your comments and also post them in the Ukraine Culture thread here in the same forum section.  Readers will find Scott's comment here:
http://ruadventures.com/forum/index.php?topic=3321.msg37497#msg37497

Yes, the KievanRus birth of the Russian nation in Kiev underscores what's you said.  I think you may find a book "Borderland" very interesting given your background.  We just did a post on that book about Ukraine yesterday in the Ukraine Culture thread.

Scott, again welcome to RUA!


Offline ScottinCrimea

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Re: Russian culture
« Reply #10 on: April 03, 2008, 06:13:32 AM »
I actually just finished reading Borderland and found it very informative, though I found the author's depictions of modern day Ukraine quite negative.  If her observations of Ukraine just after its independence are tru, it has definitely come a long way in a short time.

Right now I'm reading The Ukrainians, Unexpected Nation by Andrew Wilson.  It goes into much more detail on the history and origins of Ukraine and explores some of the various ideas surrounding its origin and culture.

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Russian culture
« Reply #11 on: April 03, 2008, 09:31:34 AM »
Moderators note:  A review and information on the above book can be found here in the Ukrainian Culture thread:
http://ruadventures.com/forum/index.php?topic=3321.new#new

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Russian culture
« Reply #12 on: April 03, 2008, 11:16:07 PM »
Russia's famous Trans Siberian Railway





(http://www.russia.com/cities/moscow/trans-siberian-railway)
The Trans-Siberian Railway’s (Транссибирская магистраль, Транссиб) main line runs from Moscow to Vladivostok, and travels via Siberia. This line was constructed between 1891 and 1916, and is the third longest single line in the world, running over eight time zones, 9 288 kilometers in length and with a journey duration of approximately 7 days. The second route is named the Trans-Manchurian line. It is the oldest and shortest rail route to Vladivostok, as it coincides with the main line until Tarskaya, and then heads south east, past Harbin in the Northeastern Province of China, and rejoins the main line north of Vladivostok. The Trans-Mongolian route is the third route, coinciding with the Trans-Siberian at Ulan Ude, heading south to Ulaan-Baatar and southeast toward Beijing. The fourth route, to run further north, was completed in 1991 and is known as BAM (Baikal Amur Mainline). This line leaves the Trans-Siberian line at Taishet, runs past Lake Baikal, crosses the Amur River and then moves on to Sovetskaya Gavan. Although this route is very beautiful along the Baikal northern coast, it also covers somewhat forbidding territory.



The construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway lines were only considered after 1880, before then, any railway projects were either ignored or rejected. The rejections were due to the weakness of the Siberian economy and the financial risk that was involved. Eventually, more and more requests for permission to build the railway lines were received to link Siberia and the Pacific. Due to the lack of interest to connect Siberia with eastern Russia, it posed great concern to the Government, and connecting Siberia with Moscow became a priority. The lines started to be electrified in 1929 and this was completed in 2002. The electrification of the lines allowed trains to be doubled in weight to 6 000 tonnes.

Here is a train schedule published for the city of Perm in 1899:



Today the Trans-Siberian Railway is a very important traveling medium, with local residents and tourist using the line. Many tours are available on the lines, and most travel agencies can arrange and outline a route for any visitor wanting to experience this unique adventure.



The Trans Siberian is truly Russia's super highway.  
Book your Train reservations here:  http://trains.waytorussia.net/








Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Russian culture
« Reply #13 on: April 03, 2008, 11:37:57 PM »
The Trans Siberian Railroad


Cities and Towns Along the Way (http://www.geographia.com/russia/trasib01.htm)
The Trans-Siberian trains stop several times a day, for periods ranging from just a few moments to almost half an hour. Even the longest stops, however, allow for little more than a quick expedition from the station to make some necessary purchases. It is possible, however, to arrange a stopover in many of the major destinations along the route, and what follows is a brief listing of some of the most popular sites.



Yaroslavl
One of Russia's oldest cities, Yaroslavl was founded by Yaroslav the Wise of Kievan Rus' in 1010. Over the next several centuries the city prospered as a trading port on the Volga and a center of textile manufacture, becoming by the 17th century the second largest city in Russia behind Moscow. Its wealthy merchant community became notable patrons of the arts, building hundreds of churches. Fortunately, the great majority of these remain intact today, making the city one of the most beautiful destinations along the railway.

A typical 4 bunk berth.  The bottom bunks serve as seating during the day while the upper bunks are left folded to the wall by day and opened for sleeping at night.



Ekaterinburg
The Trans-Siberian's first major stop in Asian Russia is the major industrial city and transport hub of Ekaterinburg. The town was founded in 1721 by Catherine the Great as a fort and metallurgical factory, its position having been chosen for its strategic proximity to the great mining operations of the Urals and Siberia. Although there are few tourist sites here other than the 18th-century cathedral, the city is nonetheless of great historical interest. It was here, in a house that once stood on Liebknecht ulitsa, that Tsar Nicholas II and his family were executed on the morning of July 17, 1918. Although the house no longer exists, its site is marked by a plain wooden cross. The Imperial family, like most tourists, was brought to Ekaterinburg on the Trans- Siberian. Ekaterinburg is also notable for being the hometown of Boris Yeltsin.



Krasnoyarsk
One of the older towns in Siberia, Krasnoyarsk was founded in 1628 as a trading post along the Yenisei River. It grew rapidly when gold was discovered in the region, and eventually became a major river port and industrial center. Outside the ciy is the Stolby Reserve, an attractive preserve notable for the odd, columnar cliffs that rise from the river's edge inside its area. After one passes over the Yenesei, another of the Trans-Siberian's most significant border crossings takes place--one leaves the steppe and plunges into the taiga, the great forest that extends over most of Russia. The vast Siberian taiga is the largest remaining forest in the world.



Irkutsk
Irkutsk became a wealthy trading center soon after its founding in the 1660s, benefiting from its position along overland trade routes between China and Western Russia. Since then it has maintained its position as the regions most important city, though today its attraction for visitors is supplemented by its proximity to Lake Baikal. Trans Siberian Railway enthusiasts should try to make it for a visit in 1998, when the city has planned a celebration commemorating the inauguration of the rail line.



Ulan Ude
Like most Siberian cities, Ulan Ude was founded during the 17th century. However, as the center of the Buddhist Buryat culture, it is unlike any of the other stops along the Trans-Siberian railway. Although the city's Buddhist tradition, like all other religions, suffered a sharp decline under Stalin, there has been a noticeable revival in recent years. Visitors to Ulan Ude today should not miss the opportunity to visit nearby Ivolginsk Datsan, a restored Tibetan Buddhist monastery which now serves as the center of Buddhism in Russia.



Khabarovsk
Strategically located on the hills overlooking the Amur River, Khabarovsk was founded as a military outpost in 1651, during the first wave of Russian colonization. The town gained importance during the nineteenth century as a trading outpost, and today it is one of the most important and promising cities of the Russian Far East. Khabarovsk is a pleasant city, with wide, tree-lined boulevards, a popular beach, and an interesting museum of ethnography and local history.



Vladivostok
Vladivostok was founded in 1860 as a military outpost, but its outstanding natural harbour soon brought it prosperity as a trading port. The city's nomination as the headquarters of the Russian Pacific fleet in the 1870s brought further growth, and by the twentieth century it had become a major center of international trade. During the Soviet era, Vladivostok's military role eclipsed its trading function, and the city was closed both to foreigners and to Soviet citizens lacking special entry permission. The city was opened once again to visitors in 1992. It is currently experiencing a rapid recovery of its historic role as a major Pacific commercial port and has also maintained its naval importance as the headquarters of the Russian Pacific Fleet. Today Vladivostok is a a lively, attractive city, with a wealth of attractions and, as always, a strikingly impressive harbour.

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Russian culture
« Reply #14 on: April 04, 2008, 12:21:31 AM »
Vladivostok station:




It takes more than six days to travel along the whole Trans-Siberian, so it is recommended to make stopovers along the way — like this your trip will be much more interesting also.  After crossing Siberia (soon after Irkutsk) the Trans-Siberian route divides into three different routes:

• The Trans-Siberian Route: Moscow - Vladivostok – the original Trans-Siberian railway, which goes all along Siberia and through the Far East (to the Pacific Ocean).

• The Trans-Mongolian Route: Moscow - Ulan-Bataar - Beijing. You will see Siberian plains and forests, Mongolian steppe and even a part of Gobi desert along this route that goes through Mongolia to China.

• The Trans-Manchurian Route: Moscow - Beijing – a direct way from Russia to China that goes around the Eastern border of Mongolia, not crossing it. It can be interesting for those, who are not interested in going to Mongolia, or who can't get tickets for other trains.

Train schedule printed in 1928:



Winding its way across the country, from large cities to small villages....



...the Trans Siberian connects Russia to its cultural and geographic roots.




The train travels along beautiful Lake Baikal:


American's making friends and drinking vodka on the train:


A tribute to trains of the past and to today:


The Asian side of the TSR:


A couple share their experiences on the train:

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Russian culture
« Reply #15 on: April 13, 2008, 02:26:28 PM »
History of the Moscow Kremlin

Note:  Kremlin = 'fort'




Here is the story as expertly told by By Olga & Yuri Timokhin at www.ruscuisine.com

The famous Moscow Kremlin is Russia's mythic refuge, a self contained city with a multitude of palaces, armories, and churches, a medieval fortress that links the modern nation to its legendary past in the ancient state of Kievan Rus'.
As the dominance of Kiev faded and its empire fragmented under the weight of foreign invasion and internecine strife in the 11th and 12th centuries, regional princes gained power. In 1147, as Kievan Rus was experiencing its final death throes, a chronicler recorded that a feast was held at the hunting lodge of Prince Yuri Dolgorukiy, ruling prince of Rostov and Suzdal. The lodge was perfectly situated atop a hill overlooking the Moskva and Neglina rivers, prompting its development (in such troubled times) as a fortified town, or Kremlin.



Within a century, the town had risen to become an independent principality within the Mongol empire. By the middle of the 14th century, its princes had gained such pre-eminence that Moscow was made the seat of the Russian Orthodox Church. With Ivan the Great (1462-1505) at its helm, Muscovite rule extended over all of Russia, and the Kremlin became more magnificent, befitting its role as the seat of Russian power. By 1480 the once modest hunting lodge had become an imposing fortress city. Its stone walls were graced by the magnificent Cathedral of the Assumption, where Ivan defiantly tore up the charter binding Moscow to Mongol rule. Over the next two centuries, until Peter the Great transferred the capital of Russia to St. Petersburg, the Kremlin served as the central stage for the magnificent and occasionally horrific history of the Tsars.



With the shift of power to St. Petersburg, the city and the Kremlin declined. However, the Bolsheviks' choice of Moscow as their capital in March 1918 returned it to preeminence, and during Soviet rule the Kremlin experienced its second life as a great center of power. Although the Soviet state certainly left its mark on the Kremlin, the centuries-old citadel very much retains the aura of early Tsarist Russia. Especially in Cathedral Square, where the spirits of Ivan the Terrible, Boris Godunov, and the early Romanovs loom much larger than those of Stalin or even Lenin himself.



For centuries of its existence the Moscow Kremlin has been witness of many famous and tragic events of our history. Enemy guns rattled at its walls, celebrations and revolts took place. Now the Moscow Kremlin is one of the biggest museums of the world. State regalia of Russia, invaluable icons, treasures of Russian tsars are stored in the Kremlin chambers and cathedrals.



The collections of the Kremlin museums are unsurpassable in their variety: they comprise early Russian painting, icons, 12th - 17th century frescoes; side and firearms made by Russian, Oriental and Western European masters of the 14th - 19th centuries; carriages, sl edges, coaches and ceremonial horsecloths of the 16th - 19th centuries; Oriental carpets and Western European tapestries; articles by Russian and Western European silversmiths; household articles of the 17th and 18th centuries; illuminated manuscripts, books, porcelain, carved stone, and archaeological findings.



Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Russian culture
« Reply #16 on: April 16, 2008, 11:49:23 PM »
History of Moscow


(Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Moscow)
The oldest evidence of humans on the territory of Moscow dates from the Stone Age (Schukinskaya Neolithic site on the Moscow River). Within the modern bounds of the city other late evidence was discovered (the burial ground of the Fatyanovskaya culture, the site of the early-Stone Age settlement of Dyakovskaya culture, on the territory of Kremlin, Sparrow Hills, Setun River, Kuntsevskiy forest park, etc.



In the end of 1st millennium AD the territory of Moscow and the Moscow Oblast was inhabited by the Slavic tribes of Vyatichi and Krivichi. In the end of 11th century Moscow was a small town with the feudal center and trade suburb situated at the mouth of the Neglinnaya River.



The first reference to Moscow dates from 1147 when it was an obscure town in a small province inhabited mostly by Merya, speakers of a now extinct Finnic language. In 1156, Knjaz Yury Dolgoruky built a wooden wall and a moat around the city. After the sacking of 1237-1238, when the Mongol Khanate of the Golden Horde burned the city to the ground and killed its inhabitants.



In 1300 Moscow was ruled by Daniil Aleksandrovich, the son of Alexander Nevsky and a member of the Rurik Dynasty. Its favorable position on the headwaters of the Volga river contributed to steady expansion. Moscow was also stable and prosperous for many years and attracted a large numbers of refugees from across Russia. By 1304, Yury of Moscow contested with Mikhail of Tver for the throne of the principality of Vladimir. Ivan I eventually defeated Tver to become the capital of Vladimir-Suzdal, and the sole collector of taxes for the Mongol rulers. By paying high tribute, Ivan won an important concession from the Khan. Unlike other principalities, Moscow was not divided among his sons but was passed intact to his eldest.


 
Plan of Moscow, 1917While Khan of the Golden Horde initially attempted to limit Moscow's influence, when the growth of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania began to threaten all of Russia, the Khan strengthened Moscow to counterbalance Lithuania, allowing it to become one of the most powerful cities in Russia. In 1380, prince Dmitry Donskoy of Moscow led a united Russian army to an important victory over the Mongols in the Battle of Kulikovo. After that, Moscow took the leading role in liberating Russia from Mongol domination. In 1480, Ivan III had finally broken the Russians free from Tatar control and Moscow became the capital of an empire that would eventually encompass all of Russia and Siberia, and parts of many other lands.

In 1571 the Tatars from the Crimean Khanate seized and burned Moscow. From 1610 through 1612, troops of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth occupied Moscow, as its ruler Sigismund III tried to tke the Russian throne. In 1611 Moscow suffered a great fire. In 1612, the people of Nizhny Novgorod and other Russian cities conducted by prince Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin rose against the Polish occupants,besieged the Kremlin and expelled them. In 1613, the Zemsky sobor elected Michael Romanov tsar, establishing the Romanov dynasty.



Moscow ceased to be Russia's capital when in 1703 Peter the Great constructed St. Petersburg on the Baltic coast. When Napoleon invaded in 1812, the Moscovites burned the city and evacuated, as Napoleon's forces were approaching on September 14. Napoleon's army, plagued by hunger, cold, and poor supply lines, was forced to retreat.



In January of 1905, the institution of the City Governor, or Mayor, was officially introduced in Moscow, and Alexander Adrianov became Moscow's first official mayor (current mayor is Yuriy Luzhkov). Following the success of the Russian Revolution of 1917, Lenin, fearing possible foreign invasion, moved the capital from St. Petersburg back to Moscow on March 5, 1918.


 
In the beginning of 20th Century, several strikes and armed risings in Moscow paved the way to the October Revolution. In 1918 the Bolsheviks moved the seat of government from Saint Petersburg back to Moscow. During the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet State Committee of Defense and the General Staff of the Red Army were located in Moscow.



In 1941 16 divisions of the national volunteers (more than 160,000 people), 25 battalions (18,000 people) and 4 engineering regiments were formed among the Muscovites. In November 1941, German Army Group Centre was stopped at the outskirts of the city and then driven off in the course of the Battle of Moscow. Many factories were evacuated, together with much of the government, and from October 20 the city was declared to be in a state of siege. Its remaining inhabitants built and manned antitank defenses, while the city was bombarded from the air. On May 1, 1944 a medal "For the defense of Moscow" and in 1947 another medal "In memory of the 800th anniversary of Moscow" were instituted. On May 8, 1965 due to the actual 20th anniversary of the victory in World War II Moscow was awarded a title of the Hero City. In 1980 it hosted the Summer Olympic Games.

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Re: Russian culture
« Reply #17 on: April 17, 2008, 12:49:12 AM »
Moscow's Golden Ring


The Golden Ring (Золото́е кольцо́) is a ring of cities northeast of Moscow, the capital of Russia. They formerly comprised the region known as Zalesye.  These ancient towns, which also played a significant role in the formation of the Russian Orthodox Church, preserve the memory of the most important and significant events in Russian history. The towns have been called "open air museums" and feature unique monuments of Russian architecture of the 12th–18th centuries, including kremlins, monasteries, cathedrals, and churches. These towns are among the most picturesque in Russia and prominently feature Russia's famous onion domes.

Pereslavl-Zalessky or Pereyaslavl-Zalessky (Пересла́вль-Зале́сский; could be translated as "Pereslavl, which is located behind the woods"), is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia. It was called Pereyaslavl until the 15th century. The town is located on the southeastern shore of the Lake Pleshcheyevo at the mouth of the Trubezh River.

Pereslavl-Zalessky was founded in 1152 by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky as a projected capital of Zalesye. In 1175–1302, the town was the center of the Principality of Pereslavl (Zalessky). In 1302, the town became a part of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Pereslavl-Zalessky had been devastated numerous times by the Mongols between the mid-13th century and the early 15th century. In 1611–1612, it suffered from the Polish invasion.

In 1688–1693, Peter the Great built his famous "funny flotilla" on Lake Pleshcheyevo for his own amusement, including the so-called Peter's little boat, which would be considered the forefather of the Russian fleet.  In 1708, Pereslavl-Zalessky became a part of Moscow Governorate.  In 1894, Vladimir Lenin came to the village of Gorki not far from Pereslavl-Zalessky.



Rostov Veliky (Росто́в) is one of the oldest towns in Russia and an important tourist centre of the so called Golden ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero in Yaroslavl Oblast.  While official name of the town is Rostov, it is better known to Russians as Rostov Veliky, i.e. Rostov the Great. This name is used to distinguish it from Rostov on Don, which is now a much larger city.


Rostov Yaroslavsky is the official name of its railway station (due to its position in Yaroslavl Oblast); the town itself is hardly ever called so.



Yaroslavl (Russian: Яросла́вль) is a city in Russia, the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, located 250 km north-east of Moscow at 57°37′N, 39°51′E. The historical part of the city, a World Heritage Site, is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl Rivers.  Apart from the Spaso-Preobrazhensky (Transfiguration of the Saviour) Monastery the oldest churches in the city date back to the 17th century and belong to the so called Yaroslavl type (built of red brick, with bright tiled exteriors). Those of St. Nicholas Nadein and Elijah the Prophet have some of the Golden ring's most impressive frescoes.



Ivanovo (Ива́ново) has traditionally been called the textile capital of Russia. Since most textile workers are women, it has also been known as the "City of Brides".   It is home to Ivanovo Severny, which is one of the largest military airlift bases in Russia. Civilian air service is provided at Ivanovo Yuzhny Airport. Ivanovo has got several educational institutions: Ivanovo State University, Ivanovo Medical Academy,Ivanovo Architectural Academy, Ivanovo State Power University(ISPU), an Engineering and Electrical University (pictured in photo).



Gus-Khrustalny (Гусь-Хруста́льный) is a town in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the Gus River (a tributary of the Oka River) 63 km south of Vladimir. Population: 17,900 (1926), 40,000 (1939), 65,000 (1970), 67,121 (2002 Census).  The name of the town may be translated as "crystal goose", for it is known as one of the oldest centers of glass industry in Russia and stands on the Gus (Goose) River.



Suzdal (Су́здаль) is a town in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, situated northeast of Moscow, 26 km from the city of Vladimir, on the Kamenka River.  The history of the town dates back to at least the year 1024. For centuries it functioned as the capital of several Russian principalities. It forms part of the Golden Ring.



Vladimir (Влади́мир) is a city in Russia, located on the Klyazma River, 200 kilometers (124 mi) to the east of Moscow along the M7 motorway. It is the administrative center of Vladimir Oblast.  Vladimir was one of the medieval capitals of Russia, and two of its cathedrals are a World Heritage Site. I t is served by Vladimir Semyazino Airport, and during the Cold War Vladimir was host to Dobrynskoye air base.

Scores of Russian, German, and Georgian masons worked on Vladimir's white stone cathedrals, towers, and palaces. Unlike any other northern buildings, their exterior was elaborately carved with the high relief stone sculptures. Only three of these edifices stand today: the Assumption Cathedral, the Cathedral of St. Demetrios, and the Golden Gate. During Andrei's reign, a royal palace in Bogolyubovo was built, as well as the world-famous Intercession Church on the Nerl, now considered one of the jewels of ancient Russian architecture. Andrei was assassinated at his palace at Bogolyubovo in 1175.

Vladimir on a winter night.

Video of Vladimir Monastery Vespers service with Orthodox music:

Family friend Sasha in quiet contemplation while waiting for us to catch up.


City of Vladimir website: http://www.vladimir-russia.info/index.htm

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Russian culture
« Reply #18 on: April 17, 2008, 01:08:24 AM »
Moscow's Golden Ring, continued



Rybinsk (Ры́бинск) is one of the oldest Slavic settlements on the Volga River. The place was first noticed by chroniclers in 1071 as Ust-Sheksna, i.e. "the mouth of the Sheksna". For the next four centuries, the settlement was referred to alternatively as Ust-Sheksna or Rybansk. Since 1504, it was mentioned in documents as Rybnaya Sloboda (literally: "the fishing village"). The name is explained by the fact that the settlement supplied the Muscovite court with choice sturgeons and sterlets.

In the 17th century, when the sloboda was capitalizing on the trade of the Muscovy Company with Western Europe, it was rich enough to build several stone churches, of which only one survives to the present. More old architecture may be found in the neighbourhood, including the very last of Muscovite three-tented churches (in the Alexandrov Hermitage) and the Ushakov family shrine (on the Epiphany Island).



Uglich (У́глич, pronounced [ˈuglʲiʨ]) is a historic town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, on the Volga River.  A local tradition dates the town's origin back to 937. It was first documented in 1148 as Ugliche Pole (Corner Field).

Uglich had been the seat of a small princedom from 1218 until 1328 when the local princes sold their rights to the great prince of Moscow. As a border town of Muscovy, it was burnt several times by Lithuanians, Tatars and the grand prince of Tver.  Grand Duke Ivan III of Moscow gave the town to his younger brother Andrei Bolshoi in 1462. During Andrei's reign the town was expanded and first stone buildings were constructed. Particularly notable were the cathedral (rebuilt in 1713), the Intercession Monastery (destroyed by the Bolsheviks) and the red-brick palace of the prince (completed in 1481 and still standing).


During the reign of Ivan the Terrible the town passed to his only brother, Yuriy. Local inhabitants helped the tsar to capture Kazan by building a wooden fortress which was transported by the Volga all the way to Kazan. Throughout the 16th century Uglich prospered both politically and economically, but thereafter its fortunes began to decline.

After Ivan's death, his youngest son Dmitry Ivanovich was banished to Uglich in 1584. The most famous event in the town's history took place on May 15, 1591 when the 10-year old boy was found dead with his throat cut in the palace courtyard. Suspicion immediately fell on the tsar's chief advisor, Boris Godunov. Official investigators concluded however that Dimitriy's death was an accident.

 

Alexandrov (Алекса́ндров) is a town in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, 120 km north-east of Moscow.  The town of Alexandrov served as the capital of Russia for three months (December 1564 to February 1565) under tsar Ivan the Terrible until he agreed to return his court and the relics of Moscow which he had taken with him. Ivan agreed to return after the church gave him permission to found the Oprichnina.



Sergiev Posad (Се́ргиев Поса́д) is a city and the administrative center of Sergiyevo-Posadsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia. It grew up in the 15th century around one of the greatest of Russian monasteries, the Troitse-Sergiyeva (Trinity) Lavra established by St. Sergius of Radonezh. The town became incorporated in 1742. As the town's name, alluding to St. Sergius, had strong religious connotations, the Soviet authorities changed first to just Sergiyev in 1919, and then to Zagorsk in 1930, in memory of the revolutionary Vladimir Zagorsky. The original name came back into official use in 1991.


Website of the Monastery: http://www.stsl.ru/


(Source for this article: Wikipedia.com)





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Re: Russian culture
« Reply #19 on: April 17, 2008, 01:08:52 AM »
The mighty Moscow Metro

Moscow Metro (Московский метрополитен), which spans almost the entire Russian capital, is the world's most heavily used metro system.  The Metro is famous for the ornate design of its stations, most of which contain outstanding examples of socialist realist art.


The famous "M" adorns every station, calling passengers to come inside and ride the Metro.

The First Line, built in the early `1930's, possesses an invigorating modernism that is a high-water mark of the Soviet avant-garde. With the Second Line, built in the late 1930's, a program of monumental sculpture and art was introduced that signaled Stalin's stranglehold on the ideological goals of the Soviet state.

Old Metro token

The Third Line, built during the "Great Patriotic War" from 1939 - 1944, became a symbol of Soviet tenacity and ultimately a memorial to the people's resistance during this devastating period. The Fourth Line, completed in 1954 shortly after the death of Stalin, is perhaps the most flamboyantly ideological and represents the epitome of the leader's vision for the Metro. With the demise of Stalin, the expression of the system reverted to its rationalist origins.

Although constructed by a tyrant for a people living in terror, this subterranean proletarian paradise offers an ironically humane vision of public social space, both beautiful and functional. Today, with construction continuing, the Moscow Metro covers over 200 kilometers of track and serves 9 million people each day.



In total, the Moscow Metro has 292.2 km of route length, 12 lines and 176 stations; on a normal weekday it carries over 7 million passengers. Passenger traffic is considerably lower on weekends bringing the average daily passenger traffic during the year to 6.8 million passengers per day. The Moscow Metro is a state-owned enterprise.

Each line is identified by an alphanumeric index, a name, and a colour. The voice announcements refer to lines by name, while in colloquial usage they are mostly referred to by colour, except the Lyublinskaya Line (number 10) and the Kakhovskaya Line (number 11) which have been assigned shades of green similar to that of the Zamoskvoretskaya Line (number 2).



Most lines run radially through the city, except the Koltsevaya Line (number 5), which is a 20-km-long ring connecting all the radial lines and a few smaller lines outside. On all lines, travellers can determine the direction of the train by the gender of the announcer: on the ring line, a male voice indicates clockwise travel, and a female voice counter-clockwise. On the radial lines, travellers heading toward the centre of Moscow will hear male-voiced announcements, and travellers heading away will hear female-voiced announcements. In addition, there is an abundance of signs showing all the stations that can be reached in a given direction.



Mayakovskaya Metro station is truly considered to be the main architectural masterpiece of the Moscow's Metro. This is a station, which lays deep underground, it belongs to the first, the oldest line of the Moscow's Metro. The station was opened in 1938. The station mock-up was successfully displayed the same year at the International exhibition in New-York. Marble of two types was used to decorate the walls and columns of the station.  The vaulting of the central hall of "Mayakovskaya" station has 33 mosaics executed to cartoons by famous Russian artist Alexander Deineka. The design is accented by the sparkling bends of stainless steel is shaded by red and pink shades of rodonite, a fine semi-precious stone.



The metro is the fastest and cheapest way to reach many points in Moscow with 10 radial lines and one circular (more are being constructed) and over 200 kilometers of track. It operates from 5:30 A.M. to 1:00 A.M. Metro stations are identified by the red (M) signs. Trains run at intervals of 2-4 minutes, 1-2 minutes during rush hours. The loud speakers announce (in Russian of course) the next coming stop and the stop you are on. The doors open and close automatically. Every station has a police post, a first-aid station and telephones - local and international. Metro (magnetic) cards are available at all stations.





The first plans for a rapid transit system in Moscow date back in the times of the Russian Empire, but they were postponed by the World War I, the October Revolution and the Russian Civil War. It was not until June 1931 that the decision to start construction of the Moscow Metro was taken by the Central Committee of the USSR Communist Party.




Moscow residents are proud of the new and modern Metro stations.  The Moscow government has approved additions to the Metro construction & modernization program until 2010 which plans the building of the following stations and parts of the Metro lines:

-Tchkalovskaya - Marina Rosha in 2008
-Marino - Zyablikovo in 2008
-Victory Park - Kuntsevskaya in 2009
-Krylatskoe - Strogino in 2009
-Strogino - Mitino in 2009
-Novogireevo - Gorodetskaya in 2009
-Vykhino - Pronskaya (Zulebino) in 2009
-Krasnogvardeiskaya - Brateevo in 2010



(Sources:  Wikipedia, Moscowmetro.ru)



Rail from SVO airport to downtown Moscow has arrived!
Sheremetyevo express train travels at 75+ miles an hour, takes 25-35 minutes, and costs only $10.


Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Russian culture
« Reply #20 on: April 17, 2008, 01:09:20 AM »
How to ride The Moscow Metro


The days of German warplanes flying overhead and citizens crowding deep underground in the Moscow Metros for shelter during air-raids are thankfully over and for most only a distant memory.  So in this part of the series we'll learn how to use the Metro.



Where to buy a ticket and how.  Well you have several options.  The Moscow Metro uses magnetic cards (contact cards) for tickets with a fixed number of journeys (up to 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 60 and 70 journeys for 30 days from the day of the first journey). Currently (Jan, 2008) the cost of 1 ride is 19 roubles (78 US cents), starting with 5 ride cards there are small discounts.  As long as you stay inside the Metro you may transfer to as many trains as necessary but once you leave the Metro then your card must be re-entered.



Magnetic cards were introduced in 1993 as a test and were used as unlimited tickets between 1996 and 1998. The sale of magnetic cards stopped in 2008. In January 2007, Moscow Metropolitan began replacing magnetic cards with fixed number of journeys by contactless cards. Since January 20, 2007 contactless cards are available for 10, 20 and 60 journeys versions. Smartcards are being used in Moscow Metro since 1998 and are called Transport Cards. Transport Cards are available as 'unlimited' and 'social' tickets. The unlimited card can be programmed for 30, 90, and 365 days. The social cards are free for elderly people (who are officially registered as residents of Moscow city or Moscow area) and some privileged categories of citizens; they are available to school pupils and students at a heavily reduced price. Transport Cards were introduced in 1998 along with a new type of magnetic card.



In most cases an unlimited card is good for both buses or the Metro but not in every case so feel free to ask someone.  The open hours are from 5.20 a.m. to 1.00 a.m. Usually the last train starts its way at 00.50 from the last station at any line; the passes between stations are closed at 1.00 am. When there're rush hours (8.00-9.00, 17.00-19.00) the metro is overcrowded, so it's better to avoid it.  Trains typically run in 2 to 4 minute cycles so if you missed one, don't worry the next one will arrive before you know it.
 


Most lines run deep underground but crossing the Moscow River going south several stations are above ground, such as Station Studencheskaya (Студенческая) shown here.



The old turnstiles relied on you to feed your card into the machine and then it would rapidly spit the card back up at you while opening the turnstile.  Ticket control staff stood nearby to make certain only one person entered per ticket.  Today in many stations 'smart cards' open the turnstile electronically.



Some of the old cards even had handy instructions labeled on the back of the card.



Modernization includes turnstiles of a new model have been installed in many stations. These turnstiles made of stainless steel and use the new Smart Card technology.  Security is still important in the metro and when someone trys to enter the Metro turnstile without paying the turnstiles play "Polonaise" by Oginsky to alert Metro staff.



Tips for a good Metro experience
Learn some of the Cyrillic alphabet and language before you leave for Moscow. Although this isn't a definite requirement to learn how to navigate the Moscow metro, it will certainly be a help.  Signs inside the Metro stations are generally only in Cyrillic.

Buy a ticket which is good for several days. 
 
At older turnstiles feed the ticket into the entry gate. The ticket should be arrow side down when you put it into the slot. You put it in and pull it out and a green light should come on until you pass through.

Print a map (see below) to take with you so that you can navigate the various levels inside each station with the overhead signs to find the correct Moscow metro line. Once you find the one you want, take the escalator down to the metro lines. When you arrive at the bottom, you will need to check the overhead signs again to find out which side of the platform you need to be on for your train.

Transfer to other lines. If you need to connect to other lines, you should follow the overhead signs. Everything is clearly marked and should be easy to find if you have your map and have written down the train names in advance in Russian Cyrillic.

Having successfully navigated the exceptionally fast escalator (stop admiring the decor - this is serious) get ready to contend with the choice between the left or right side of the open platform, aided only by the Cyrillic-inscribed signs hanging from the ceiling or the walls. There are no full-scale maps down here, so if you have problems with the Cyrillic alphabet or you don't know the network, well, it is important to carry your own map and/or have a clear mental photograph of your destination name and any changes you need to make on the way. 

Plan your trip
Here is an interactive Metro map, with stations in both English and Russian, on which you can calculate times between stations, route a trip, or just find interesting facts about a station by clicking on the station name: http://engl.mosmetro.ru/flash/scheme01.html  Download this map for your trip.



Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Russian culture
« Reply #21 on: April 17, 2008, 01:49:57 AM »
Moscow metro map:

(Click on map to display full size.  To print the latest version of the map complete with new stations included, follow this link:  http://engl.mosmetro.ru/flash/scheme01.html

ila_rendered

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Re: Russian culture
« Reply #22 on: April 17, 2008, 01:55:24 AM »
Moscow buses



Riding a bus in Russia is fairly much the same no matter which city.  This is also true for Ukraine.  So what you learn about Moscow is pretty much transferrable.

Moscow's bus network is a complex mixture of private and state-owned vehicles, with little co-ordinated information about routes and schedules available. Tickets for state-run buses, which are usually (though not always) shabbier and more crowded, can be bought, like tram and trolleybus tickets, in booklets of ten from kiosks and metro stations. Privately-owned buses, which are identified by the letters 'K' or 'E' before their route number, usually have a conductor on board. Some newer Moscow buses now have a turnstile system which prevents you from boarding without a valid ticket.

Bus stops are designated by a sign marked with an 'A' (for avtobus), and buses are supposed to run from 06.00 to 01.00. Riding the bus can be both economical and fun!  You won't have to wait long either--public transportation in Russia is an important part of life and another bus is not far behind.




How to find a bus
Okay, we go to all that trouble having you look for a sign with a big A, then show a bus stop without an A!  It's Russia, go figure.  So if you can't recognize a bus stop, or don't see one, what should you do?  Ask someone! 

In Russian you make wish to keep it simple and say, где - автобус? -- as in 'Gdye AfTO-boos?'  (It's an 'f' instead of a 'v' sound, a grammer rule not important here so just say it like you see it above.) And don't say 'bus' at the end, say 'boos' and it will sound more authentic.

Or you can look for signs.  Just as the Metro system has the big red M posted, look for a large letter A on a yellow street sign.  If you start looking you'll find one quickly.


How to read the signs:




Remember that Russians post times in 2400 hour incruments so 6:00 in 6am and 6pm will be 1800 on such a sign.  Often on a bus sign the times you see are not hours but rather the number of minutes between bus arrivals.  The buses generally keep a similiar schedule as the Metro trains, 5:30am to 12:30am (Metros run 5am to 1am).

Most buses start at a point and travel to a Metro station, then double back on a return route.  The Metro stations also serve as 'hubs' for the bus system.  So having a good Moscow Metro map will make it easier to understand the bus routes.  If visiting someone its common to ask for their Metro stop and bus numbers.  Usually there will be several buses which make the trip from Metro station to their street so write down each number given.  And after exiting the Metro station just go outside and look at the buses to find the one(s) you need.  Numbers are posted near side and rear windows.

Buses and trolley-buses normally have a turnstile (see a picture). Board a bus / trolley-bus through the first door, buy your ticket from a driver, insert it into the turnstile’s slit (arrow first, facing you), then take it from the slit. When the green light flashes, go through. Tickets are also available in the booths located near bus and trolley-bus stops.



The upcoming stops are usually announced loudly and there is always an itinerary scheme.  Tickets are available in strips or booklets from people outside all metro stations or from bus drivers directly.  Heavy routes will have a cashier on board and she will sell you a ticket.  Don't forget to punch the bus tickets inside the bus. If the bus is crowded and you can't reach, pass your money (if you want to buy tickets) or ticket to someone else who will pass it to the driver or the punching machine.


How to punch your bus ticket
Newer buses will have a turnstile and you can't get on the bus without a ticket first (a great reason to buy them in a packet of 10 at a time!) so this won't be an issue very often.  However a few of the older buses still use the old fashioned punch method.  With the punch tickets you stick your ticket inside the jaws of a small apparakt found on every other inside window.  Then using the palm of your hand slam that baby together!  That punches out a piece of your ticket, proof that you're riding legally. 

Moscow is now experimenting with "electronic conductors," transport with a turnstile at the front where you must slide your ticket, then walk through. These are identifiable by a big "No Rabbit" logo.  A "rabbit," by the way, is slang in Russian for a passenger who has not paid fare.  If you see this logo, make sure to get on at the front of the bus.

Exception: Sometimes, especially in smaller Russian towns, you will be given a very small slip of paper, torn from a roll. In this case, you do not need to punch the ticket. "Normal" tickets are tag board and about the size of a credit card.  If you are uncertain what to do, just watch everyone else and follow suit. 


Ticket Control Officers
Yes, each bus using the old punch blocks have a unique punch pattern so if "ticket control" officers compare your punch to another ticket they can instantly if you have a valid ticket.

If you do not have a valid ticket you are subject to a shtraff (fine) if the ticket controllers catch you. Ticket controllers enter bus, trolleys, and trams randomly at different stops.  Currently the fine is only something like $3.00, but it is sufficiently embarrassing and inconvenient, since they take you off the bus and make you wait for another, perhaps in really cold weather.

However you, a Westerner, will get a 'special fine' price.  The controllers know you're a foreigner. Learn how to buy and use the tickets correctly.  Don’t get "shtraffed."


Good manners on the bus
Especially in rush hour it may be necessary to push and shove your way onto the bus otherwise you'll be waiting for a very long time.  However once on the bus you should offer a seat (if lucky enough to find one empty) to a lady, and elderly person, or a handicapped person.

Buses will stop at most scheduled stops since the buses are so busy.  However if you approach your stop and don't see any activity it's okay to yell "stop" and they'll--stop! 


Plan in advance
Moscow Transport has recently unveiled a new interactive trip plan tool to help get you around the city.  It uses a starting point and ending point (like mapquest) and then integrates a schedule of Metro trains and Autobuses to get you from point A to B.  Try it here:  http://msk.rusavtobus.ru/en

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Russian culture
« Reply #23 on: April 18, 2008, 01:23:03 AM »
More Moscow transportation:





Marshrutka
Running the very same route as buses are the little mini-buses known as "маршрутное такси (маршрутка)" or simply as Marshrutka.





In most cases you'll pay this driver separately because while he has a contract with the city government for his route, in most cases the Marshrutka taxis do not accept city bus tickets.  Here the common practice is to pass your money forward after boarding to the person in front of you.  They will pass it along to the front, then change is passed back to you.  Be sure to say the number of passengers you are paying for on the trip. 

Let's say you're paying for two persons.  You'll say, "два, пожалуйста" or 'Dva puh-zhal-ah-sta' as you pass the appropiate amount of rubles forward.



The Marshrutka generally follows the same route as the city bus--only faster.  When it's full they speed ahead to the scheduled Metro station.  If you wish to stop before the Metro then you must say "stop puh-zhal-ah-sta" at the appropiate place.  The Marshrutka simply allows you to get there a little quicker and for that convenience you pay a small price.






Electric Trolley buses
Like the Marshrutki system, the Trolley buses may be operated by private companies in which case a Metro ticket or city bus ticket would not be accepted.  Its something you just have to learn by trial and error.  Trolleybus drivers general sell tickets without the help of an on-board cashier.



They are connected to overhead electrical wires and you'll be amazed at how they can weave in and out of traffic while staying connected to their overhead wiring.  Do not confuse the Electric Trolley bus with an Electric Tram, they are different.  Both however are more common near the city center than in outlying areas.





Electric Trains
Elektrichki or commuter rails run from Moscow’s 9 train stations to as much as 3-4 hours away. We strongly recommend getting out of the city this way, if only for a weekend day. It gives an interesting perspective on Russian life. We have included a number of possible trips, both long and short, under the "Regions and Cities" section of our site.  At the station, look for signs saying "Prigorodnie" to find the correct kassa and timetable.  Always keep your ticket, as you need to produce it again to leave the station (this is to control freeloaders who try to make a return trip without paying).


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Re: Russian culture
« Reply #24 on: April 18, 2008, 01:34:49 AM »
Moscow's Victory Park....a tribute to Russia's role in the Great Patriotic War





RUA member McMann has posted some impressive Victory Park photos here: http://ruadventures.com/forum/index.php/topic,5773.msg78849.html#msg78849


Victory Park was only completed in the mid-nineties, and is something of a last gasp for the Soviet tradition of monumental triumphal art. Located on and around the Poklonnaya Gora - the hill where Napoleon waited in vain to be given the keys to the city when his troops were surrounding Moscow in 1812 - the park is set in an area steeped in Russian military history.

On 9 May, Victory Day in Russia, the park becomes the center of Moscow's celebrations, and as many of the remaining veterans and survivors as can make there way here, along with scores of the younger generations. In Russia the emphasis is on celebration rather than remembrance, and this is one of the most popular public holidays.





The central avenue is called "Years of War": It has five terraces, symbolizing the five years of conflict, and there are 1,418 fountains - one for every day. At night the fountains turn gushing water red as the Russian soul-blood, as illuminated at night, graphically demonstrating the human depth of the carnage and bravery of the Russian people during that horrifying and decimating episode in their history.





The park includes a memorial chapel, mosque, and synagogue to the circular Victors' Place, which has a triangular obelisk soaring 150 meters and surmounted by a statue of Nike, the Goddess of Victory. Behind this lies the crescent-shaped Museum of the Great Patriotic War, which gives a detailed but staid overview of Russia's appalling loses and eventual victory.





The Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War is filled with exhibits which tell about the key battles, the heroic deeds of rank-and-file soldiers and prominent military leaders and officers, the war effort of people in the rear and the joint activities of the Allies that brought to the unconditional surrender of the Nazi Germany in May of 1945.





The American army developed rations for the Red army because they were about to starve in the winter of 1942.  It consisted of two daily meals of a corn mush (canned) infused with protein and vitamins. It was around 900 calories and supplemented with spam, coffee, chocolate and cigarettes. At first Red army supplier officers were ordered to try to obscure the American emblems, but as the war progressed and the soldiers were hungry, they stopped being so secretive about where the food was being supplied.

Many of the first aid kits were produced in America and had both English and Cyrillic lettering. 


RUA member McMann has posted some really nice Victory Park photos here: http://ruadventures.com/forum/index.php/topic,5773.msg78849.html#msg78849


 

 

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